This first entry is from Martin Powell, the organiser of a long standing Jazz night in Bradford formerly known as Jazz At The Priestley:

.. to whom it may concern ...

A bit of background .. having experienced that youthful rite of passage which is rock and sometimes wondering why, having travelled back up the rock road to blues and again wondered why, a mid-life crisis prompted the purchase of a long yearned for semi acoustic fretless bass. Heeding the advice on page 1 - "listen to as many different types of music as possible" I found myself listening to music my Dad often played - e.g. Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, and to my 'parental rebellion' horror, found I liked it and moved swiftly on to the aural nirvana which is 'jazz'.

Possibly extrapolating too much, it seems to me that The Shakedown Jazz Band may well have an antidote to such a musical dilemma faced by many a callow youth and aging rocker. I can imagine the look of trepidation on the faces of old 'rockers' and jazz cats alike when they see Paranoia, Paint it Black, Black Dog, Bet that you look good on the dance floor, Whole lotta love, Song 2 along side It don't mean a thing, I've got the world on a string, Long ago and far away and Honeysuckle Rose. Well fear ye not, for having experienced the result first hand and 'live', Shakedown are masters of tasteful, yet exciting re-arrangement and adaptation in transferring rock classics into a most satisfying and swinging jazz form. Thus it comes as no surprise to find that Shakedown's supreme arrangement and interpretation talents are founded on rare and magnificent mastery of music, instrument and voice.

Providing the most solid, yet thrillingly vibrant of foundations are Andrzej Baranek (piano), Nick Blacka (double bass) and Hugh Lawrence (drums) - so tight are they that their occasional individual flourishes dovetail so brilliantly without the slightest rhythmic effect as do their progressive, surprising yet thrilling beat changes.

Serenely comfortable, yet never complacent - breezing along on this rhythmic 'waterbed' are Steve Chadwick (trumpet), Kenji Fenton (sax, clarinet) and Paul Bytheway (voice and super-cooooool). One can but marvel at the effortlessness with which these 'front men' augment the whole piece - glorious in unison whilst intelligently and beautifully intermingled in interpretation and improvisation with fluency, fluidity and lyricism of the highest order, punctuated by the occasional and delightfully placed dash of cheeky irreverence.

The Shakedown Jazz Band are quite likely the most talented sextet to grab jazz by the 'comfort zone' in many a year. Their music is not in itself 'radical' yet it is thrilling in it's confidence in their choice of source material, their fantastic and meaningful re-arrangements and in their own original numbers - Perfect for me, That sorry day (in Lichfield by The Green) - I am quickly drawn to conclude that there is no score yet written to which The Shakedown Jazz Band could not add a glorious thrill, swing and beat.

Prepare to find many of your preconceptions about rock and jazz ripped to shreds on the floor.
The Shakedown Jazz Band : "silk purses from sows ears"

Martin Powell
Organiser - JATP, Bradford